Speeches / Statements

Inaugural Address by Shri Shyam Saran, Special Envoy of the Prime Minister at the Conference on “Society, Culture and Politics in the Karakoram Himalayas.”

23/07/2009

 I wish to thank the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, its President Shri Hridaya Kaul, and its Secretary General, Prof. K. Warikoo, for inviting me to inaugurate this very timely and very topical interaction on Society, Culture and Politics in the Karakoram Himalayas. I join others in extending to all our friends from our neighbourhood and beyond a very warm welcome to New Delhi. The region you will be exploring, even if it is Conference-Room exploration, in all its diverse aspects of history, culture and politics, is unique in more ways than one. And to consider that uniqueness, perhaps the Karakorams themselves need to be put in a somewhat broader context.

If you look at the massive and forbidding mountainous zone, in which the Karakoram nestles in all its glory, you would be struck by the fact that there is no other place in the world where there is a comparable geography. There are six major mountain systems which lie linked together. From Afghanistan, running northwest is the Hindu Kush. Crossing the Hindu Kush to the north, across the Oxus valley, is the awesome cluster of peaks dominated by the dome of the Pamirs. The peak of Muztagata or the “Father of Snow Mountains” is literally that. It was with some justification that the Arabs described the Pamirs as Bam-i-duniya or the roof of the world.

Joining the Pamirs from the East is the Kun Lun range, constituting the southern fringe of Chinese dominions, and within the angle formed by these three great mountain systems – the Hindu Kush, the Pamirs and the Kun Lun, is our own Karakoram, described by geographers as being the mightiest of all.

Of course, the Karakorams in turn link up with the great Himalayan range in the latter’s western extremity, and with the Pir Panjal which rims the Kashmir Valley.

This knot of mountains, which some have called the top-knot at the head of the world, its centre of gravity, or the very axis on which it revolves, is fully 600 miles long and 300 miles in width, comparable to a France or Germany in its expanse.

What is remarkable is that despite its forbidding terrain, its remoteness and generally inhospitable environment, this mountain zone has nurtured in its nooks and crannies, extraordinarily rich and culturally diverse communities, constituting a veritable ethnic mosaic. These communities have inhabited, for centuries, the fertile valleys and string of oases which lie dotted across this mountain zone. Despite the difficult terrain, ancient trade and pilgrimage routes criss-crossed the length and breadth of this immense cluster of the world’s highest peaks. The diverse communities who call this land their own, have long co-existed with one another, rarely confronted one another. Empires and powerful states may have put markers all over, staking their claims and demanding allegiance, but this has been, throughout history, a zone of shifting political tides, not amenable to concepts of boundaries or lines that Nation States are built upon.

As I said, this region is an ethnic jigsaw but a culturally vibrant one. This jigsaw is overlaid by the ebb and tide of the world’s major religions – Hindu, Buddhist, Islam and even Zoroastrianism. Each religious influence has had to adapt to more ancient rhythms of life. Ancient caravan routes and the rich trade they carried, made this the home of a veritable cross-roads culture, but a culture that emerged from layer upon layer of influences, assimilated over a vast expanse of time. These cannot be easily uprooted.

This is the legacy which is today under extraordinary stress and in danger of losing its unique but varied identity. The danger comes particularly from an imposition of singularity on peoples who celebrate diversity and take pride in their own rich cultural and linguistic heritage.

To this, I must add, is the more recent stress that I have become aware of in my capacity as a Special Envoy on Climate Change.

The entire region is being rapidly degraded as a result of climatic change and this will only add to the political, social and economic stresses that already bedevil this region.

What we witness taking place across this entire conflict zone is, in essence, a reaction to a whole spectrum of multiple stresses – political, economic, social and environmental – whether it is Swat or Buner, Waziristan or Helmand, Balochistan or Xinkiang. And we see the reverberations of these conflicts in India’s own frontier regions, such as Jammu & Kashmir.

Why is the fate of the Karakoram communities important to India? Well, there is the obvious anxiety of the spill-over effect of the conflicts that now agitate this zone of instability. There is also the legitimate interest in territories and peoples that are part of India but under illegal occupation, both to the West as well as to the East. But there is a larger concern – what do the tides of fundamentalism, intolerance and sectarianism lapping ominously at our doors mean for India’s own plural democracy? Therefore, the destinies of the Karakoram communities and the vision of India as a successful and inclusive plurality are in a sense, linked more than symbolically. We have a duty to be engaged more actively in the survival and I would venture to say, revival of these challenged communities.

Do we imply, thereby, a return to the past, imagined or real – of peace, brotherhood and prosperity? We do not believe this will work. What we should look at, in a contemporary context, are the sources of the region’s strengths and its role as the cross-roads of trade and interchange.

We should focus on how we can draw upon the strengths of this region, its historical role, straddling major overland trade routes and its value as a syncretic culture. We should aim at the revival and energizing of the corridors that have, over the centuries, interlinked the Karakoram region in an intricate web of interaction. Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has said on a number of occasions that while we may not be able to erase the political lines which have been drawn on the map, but we could try and transcend them by reconnecting our neighbourhoods, allowing free flow of peoples, goods and ideas. The economic prospects of the Karkoram communities would brighten greatly if traditional trade routes could be reopened. Pomegranates from Kandhar could once again grace the markets of northern India, so would the produce of once-rich orchards throughout the region. Think of what this could mean for the well-being of people who now live in poverty and fall prey to the drug syndicates because they need some means of livelihood.

India has taken the lead in this regard. The opening of cross-LOC trade, the bus services between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad and between Poonch and Rawalakot, are already playing a positive role in reconnecting peoples. We have continued to press for opening the Kargil-Skardu route for passenger traffic and eventually as a full-fledged communication corridor. This will not only serve a humanitarian purpose but also help counter the virus of extremism and militancy.

In this context, I would like to emphasize that in its interaction with Pakistan on Jammu & Kashmir, India has always insisted that all cross-LOC links and potential projects for cooperation in specific areas, must cover the entire erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir, including Gilgit and Baltistan. Any consultative mechanism across the LoC must be between self-governing and representative entities and that, too, includes Gilgit and Baltistan.

This Conference must look at how we can promote these corridors of interaction in the Karakoram Himalayas. Equally, one must focus on the extraordinarily rich and varied cultural and linguistic heritage of the region which is in danger of falling off the world’s radar screen. It is our collective responsibility to preserve and to promote this varied culture, created by people who have a long history, settled existence and outstanding contributions to civilization. India feels very much a part of this civilizational network which has enriched its own culture. I earnestly hope that through interactions, such as this Conference will enable, we can begin to celebrate the cultural affinity that binds us together.

Thank you for your attention.

New Delhi
July 23, 2009